1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coverings for the ceilings and walls of building structures and, more particularly, to a drop ceiling or a wall panel wherein individual panels are supported on a matrix of support members.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
The ceilings of building structures have taken numerous forms. Ceilings may be left unfinished so that rafters or beams of the building structure itself are exposed or the rafters and beams may be covered as with drywall, wood strips, plaster or other similar finishes. Walls of building structures may be similarly finished.
Another popular ceiling system is commonly referred to as a drop ceiling where a plurality of support bars are suspended from the unfinished ceiling so as to form a matrix having a plurality of side-by-side openings defined between the support bars. The openings are filled with panels which are typically rigid acoustical panels, with the panels being supported along their peripheral edge by the support bars. While such drop ceilings have met with some success, there are numerous disadvantages. One disadvantage is that there is very little variety in the aesthetics of the ceiling system since most acoustical panels have the same general appearance, with another disadvantage residing in the fact that the panels are rigid and brittle so that they are easily breakable and, further, due to their rigidity, they are difficult to insert into the opening provided therefor inasmuch as the support bars must partially protrude into the opening in order to provide a support surface for the panels.
It is to overcome the shortcomings in prior art drop ceiling systems and to provide a new and improved cladding system for walls or ceilings that the present invention has been made.